i don't mean those high-tech gizmos nor advanced infrastructures that our country could ill afford or could only open more avenues for corruption. and that's aside from the names and faces of politicians that may be plastered on these infrastructures... (no use ruing over that; we deserve these elected officials anyway for voting them into office.)

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=39240.0

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Republic Act 8485 (Animal Welfare Act of 1998, Philippines), as amended and strengthened by House Bill 6893 of 2013--- violation means a maximum of P250,000 fine with a corresponding three-year jail term and a minimum of P30,000 fine and six months imprisonment

but may i share excerpts of articles (great essays, in my opinion) whose points made me not only think but also truly believe that what works for other countries (japan, in this case) can work for our country too. for who can deny that we can learn and take on the good in other nations as we continue to develop and move with the times?

naturally, other nations could learn something from us as well. we are great at coping with tragedies, for one, such that the smiles and humor from those who underwent the disaster that was typhoon pepe last year had impressed and stumped the foreigners who came to help.

(self-flagellation, this tendency to look down on ourselves and to speak ill of ourselves such that we are sometimes dubbed by the western press as a country with an inferiority complex, isnâ€™t one of our best traits and obviously isnâ€™t worth emulating.)

fact 1: japan is the worldâ€™s no. 1 when it comes to disaster preparedness. we are nowhere near that as pluto is to the sun.

fact 2: the philippines, like japan, sits on the ring of fire (geologically, the linear zone of seismic and volcanic activity that coincides in general with the margins of the pacific plate - dictionary.infoplease.com). japan sits on four fault lines, the philippines sits on five fault lines.

Of these, the MARIKINA VALLEY FAULT poses the greatest danger because it cuts through all the modern and progressive portions of Manila such as Eastwood, Rockwell, Ortigas Center, Bonifacio Global City, Ayala Center, and Alabang. Also, the PhiVolcs people have warned that this fault line can move anytime because it is already "11 years late" for its movement. (note: this blog was written two years ago.)

fact 3: Only the western seaboard of Luzon, including Manila, is predicted to be submerged in water. Manila is sinking into the ocean by 6 centimeters per year because of the Marikina Fault Line. By 2030, Manila will be like Venice, if proper measures aren't implemented.

The 9.0 quake that hit Japan on March 11 was powerful enough to shift the earth on its axis and make it spin a little faster, shortening the day by 1.8 millionths of a second. It shoved the island nation one parking space to the east. But what felt like the end was just the beginning.

The sturdy buildings that survived the quake were ravaged by the wave that followed. The three-story wall of water dissolved coastal towns, dry-docked boats on the roofs of buildings and shuffled houses like playing cards. There were so many aftershocks that people stopped diving under tables. Those who made it safely to higher ground waited in the dark, in the cold, in lines that stretched for hours for water and food. In a society seen as the most stoic on earth, the closest thing to chaos was a man cutting in line. (from The Day the Earth Moved by Nancy Gibbs, Time Magazine, Monday, Mar. 28, 2011)

Koji Haga wasn't just near the tsunami that devastated northern Japan on March 11. He was on top of it. Somehow the fishing-boat captain kept his pitching vessel upright as the churning force of the wave attacked the shore, turning his coastal community of Akaushi into a graveyard of rubble and probably killing upwards of 10,000 people in the country's north. I met him barely 24 hours after he'd returned to the spot where his house once stood. Aside from the roof, which landed not far from his building's foundations, there was nothing recognizable that remained of his home. A few mementos were scattered in the kaleidoscopic wreckage: his waterlogged family albums were lodged in the axle of an upturned car, while his daughter's pink stuffed animal lay face down in the mud.

Haga ignored most of these keepsakes. His first priority was scooping up sodden rice to take back to his hungry family and neighbors, who had escaped the wave by scrambling to higher ground. Yet even as the fisherman packed the ruined grain into a sack, he displayed the fortitude and generosity that have so defined this devastated region of Japan. Haga was embarrassed that the rice was spoiled, but he invited me to take some. A neighbor had found a bottle of grain alcohol bobbing in a fetid pool. Would I like a fortifying gulp? The next day, Haga would join Akaushi's other survivors to begin the slow clearing and reconstruction of a village virtually wiped off the map. "We'll all try our best to do this together," he said, not a note of pity in his voice. "That's the Japanese way, isn't it?" (from Aftermath: How Japan Will Recover from the Quake by Hannah Beech, Time Magazizne, Thursday, Mar. 17, 2011)

Marooned on the edge of a continent and perched on one of the most seismically active spots on earth, Japan, for all its modern comforts and luxuries, is a country that lives on the brink of disaster. Even its language is a testament to how this sense of precariousness has shaped the national consciousness. I say this as someone who is half Japanese and should know how to articulate a nation's mind-set. But even I find it hard to define gaman, a unique mix of endurance and self-abnegation that practically all people I spoke to in the disaster zone used to describe their situations. Or what about shoganai, which is often translated too simply as "There's nothing you can do"?

That's not quite right. The fatalism implied in the phrase denotes not just a helplessness at life's vagaries but also a calm determination to overcome what cannot be controlled. Even those who never lived through Japan's last days of privation during World War II know what is required of them as Japanese citizens. "We, the young generation, will unite and work hard to get over this tragedy," says Mamiko Shimizu, a 24-year-old graduate student. "It's now our time to rebuild Japan." (from Aftermath: How Japan Will Recover from the Quake by Hannah Beech, Time Magazine, Thursday, Mar. 17, 2011)

Nevertheless, despite the cost and loss of life, Japan's ultra-sophisticated earthquake-and-tsunami-alert system increased the odds for everyone. Survivors I met told versions of the same story. The earthquake unleashed its fury. Then because of radio broadcasts, text messages, sirens, firemen's door-to-door calls and just plain instinct honed by years of disaster drills at school, people from towns and villages along the coast â€” Japan's population is concentrated in an often narrow coastal plain â€” immediately fled to higher ground.

***

Japan is the only country on the planet with an earthquake early-warning system in place. It is also the only one with a truly successful tsunami-alert scheme â€” 300 earthquake sensors scattered in territorial waters that can predict the likelihood of a tsunami in minutes. Tsunami evacuation routes are posted up and down the coast. When the government says to evacuate, the Japanese people listen. (from Aftermath: How Japan Will Recover from the Quake by Hannah Beech, Time Magazine, Thursday, Mar. 17, 2011)

A sense of order, moreover, is not confined just to government manuals. In the wake of the disaster, there has been no looting, no rioting. Even as people hoping for food, water and fuel wait in kilometer-long lines in freezing weather â€” sometimes without success â€” tempers have not flared. Rationing of basic supplies has been accepted with few complaints. The assumption is that everybody has to share the pain equally. At Masuda Middle School, one of hundreds of emergency centers housing some 450,000 homeless people, the loudspeaker emitted a crescendo of friendly announcements. "Please come enjoy your piping hot rice now," went one. "Please be alert to the fact that the fish roe is a bit spicy, so it may not be suitable for small children," went another. In the emergency shelter at Koizumi Middle School, people not used to wearing shoes indoors constructed origami boxes made of newspaper in which to nestle their footwear. (from Aftermath: How Japan Will Recover from the Quake by Hannah Beech, Time Magazine, Thursday, Mar. 17, 2011)

But even as a country waited anxiously to see what would happen at the crippled reactor site, ordinary Japanese quietly came to one another's rescue. Just hours after a fire at the Daiichi complex, Kichi Ishikawa drove deserted roads not far from the plant to deliver noodles to the needy. "I'm just doing what needs to be done," he said. "It's nothing special." For Kenichi Numata, there was little time to even explain his actions, much less process his own sorrow. After the earthquake, he and 1,600 others dashed to the airport in Sendai, the region's largest city, and watched as dozens perished in the surrounding tide of mud and debris. Numata knew that his house had been swept away by the tidal wave. But he had a self-imposed task: organizing dazed locals trying to figure out whether their missing family members might be alive. Just in the past few hours, he had told several people their kin had died. It was not an easy job. "I'm sorry," he said, bowing deeply in apology. "But I had better go back to work." (from Aftermath: How Japan Will Recover from the Quake by Hannah Beech, Time Magazine, Thursday, Mar. 17, 2011)

There is a dichotomy between the Philippines and Japan. One , Japan, is non-christian and adheres to a strict secular way of life, while the other, the Philippines, is predominantly Christian (80% Catholic, and 10% Protestant). Beyond the scope of spiritual well being and practice, Japan is far more industrialized , and is above the tier in terms of technological and economic stratum, whereas the Philippines is but a third world nation that is modernizing, with limited technical abilities as compared to a first world nation like Japan.

Both nations, geographically and strategically speaking, are located within the realm of the Ring of Fire and both nations frequently experience natural calamities; Japan : Earthquakes, Tsunamis; Philippines: Earthquakes, Hurricanes, Mudslides, Volcanic eruption.

Japan was hit on the 11th of March of 2011 with an earthquake in the magnitude of 8.9, which was the highest in their recorded history since the turn of the century. The devastation, the combined effects of the hurricane, the tsunami, and the eventual communication collapse and disease spread has led to the calculation of 9,000 deaths and still some 12,000 missing. The entire city of Sendai experienced devastating hits, in its infrastructure and in its economic wing. The disruption of power grids and imports abroad has acute and chronic effects that will manifest in Japan and the Japanese people as well as the global community. The psychological as well as the sociological effects are magnanimous.

It was a miracle, truly, that the tsunami that hit Japan did not continue to the Philippines in the way that it hit Japan.

I do believe that it was the hand of God that protected the Filipino people and the Philippines. I believe that the mercies of Senyor Santo Nino and Holy Mother Mary with the prayers of the Saints in Heaven played a significant role in the protection of the Philippines and the Filipino people.

I have read reports of Japanese doctors that are treating patients in the area of impact, the countless patients they saw with limited medicine and with limited help. I respect and honor their strength and unwavering duty under such trying of times.

I read a report in a local hospital in Sendai , where one nurse recounts one Japanese doctor who was assisting patients to escape to higher ground, himself being consumed by the tsunami and dying as a result. He died in order that he could save his patients.

A sense of order, moreover, is not confined just to government manuals. In the wake of the disaster, there has been no looting, no rioting.[/color] Even as people hoping for food, water and fuel wait in kilometer-long lines in freezing weather â€” sometimes without success â€” tempers have not flared. Kaya ba kaha nato ni...